The participation of both manufacturers as well as our audience proved nothing short of phenomenal, particularly in light of this “maiden voyage” of the awards. In fact, more than 35,000 votes were cast.

The races in each category were close and competitive, owing to the overall strength of every product entered combined with the distinct yet varied preferences of the pro audio industry’s largest online community.

Some of the races were so tight, in fact, that they were decided in the final days of the contest, separated by just few votes. Reviewing the list of winners, you’ll even see that a couple of races ended in flat-out ties.

The Readers’ Choice Awards is unique for a number of reasons, chief among them (and as the name says), all voting is the exclusive domain of the readers of PSW and LSI.

Further, entries were divided into two categories: “new” and “established” products. (We determined a dividing line of products introduced before and after January 1, 2008).

Our reasoning is simple. While we all love to see the latest, the freshest in terms of innovation and design, it shouldn’t come at the expense of ignoring great products that have been doing the job day in and day out for years.

Rather, it would seem that the proven longevity and usefulness of some products are among their biggest strengths and should not be overlooked.

Our sincerest thanks to everyone who entered and voted in this highly successful first run of the Readers’ Choice Awards. We’re already looking forward to doing it again next year!